Range Rover on two wheels does just about everything — if you're willing and able, that is

By David Booth

Originally published: April 7, 2014

SMALL

MEDIUM

LARGE

JEROME, Ariz. — Owning the new Adventure version of BMW’s R1200 GS means never having to stop at a gas station more than once a day. It is the most “do everything” motorcycle in a segment of motorcycles — adventure tourers — that all promise to do, well, everything. It is, for those not familiar with motorcycles, a Range Rover on two wheels. For those who do ride, think of it as a Gold Wing with motocrosser tendencies or a sport bike with knobbies.

Before discussing the Adventure’s specific attributes it’s important to know its base technology, namely the garden-variety R1200 GS. The GS started the adventure touring craze way back in 1980 and, to this day, is the most popular bike in the segment and in BMW’s lineup. Powered by the latest generation of liquid-cooled 1,170-cc Boxer twin, the GS now has some serious muscle to go with its bulldog looks; 125 horsepower in fact. It also has, in no particular order of importance, quasi-tourer-like comfort, sport-bike-like agility and the ability (size and weight being its only limitations) to venture off the paved road.

The 2014 BMW R1200 GS Adventure, as its name suggests, is all about venturing off the paved path.Jon Beck, BMW

To this versatile mixture, the Adventure adds even more suspension travel and ground clearance (to polish its off-road bona fides), an absolutely humungous gas tank (said to be good for more than 500 kilometres) and a set of braced aluminum luggage that look more like portable safes than saddlebags (they effectively double as crash-bar-like protection in the inevitable tipovers).

There is of course more to it than that. Things like a GPS navigation system and heated handlebar grips add a certain degree of sophistication, the seat is as comfortable as a Gold Wing’s and despite its skyscraper-like (890 mm) seat height it still handles like a treat. But the Adventure’s raison d’etre is its go-anywhere attitude and that’s why, equipped with its optional Ride Mode Pro system, the Adventure offers no less than five different powertrain settings — Rain, Road and Dynamic for on-road work and Enduro and Enduro Pro for riding off-road — to customize its throttle response, traction control and ABS for every possible road and riding condition.

That said, while the ($21,600) Adventure is, despite these enduro-oriented upgrades, even better on road than the base GS, it is still limited off-road. Or, I should say, you will be limited to use all its abilities. The Adventure is a big bike, long, rangy and weighing in at 260 kilograms without that big 30-litre tank filled to the brim. It has all the ability in the world to traverse the roughest of terrains, but it requires an experienced hand, preferably one with enough bicep and quad to muscle all that weight around.

For the right customer — tall, experienced and mighty of limb — it’s the perfect motorcycle. Just make sure that you fit all those requirements.

Powered by the latest generation of liquid-cooled 1,170-cc Boxer twin, the GS now has some serious muscle to go with its bulldog looks; 125 horsepower in fact.Kevin Wing, BMW